Stories for September 8, 2009

I know it's still September and Halloween isn't till next month but I'm already in Halloween mode so I thought I'd highlight "Zombieland" (opening October 2). Plus check out the link to the website where you can zombify your photo!

Six domestic violence shelters in California have been forced to close while dozens more are scaling back services after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated all state funding for the program that supports them.

A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly. The expert panel estimates it would cost about $3 billion a year beyond NASA's current $18 billion annual budget.

Okay, "Spamalot" (running September 8 through 13 at the San Diego Civic Theater) is not a movie but since it's based on a movie and it's from my beloved Pythonites I figure it's fair game to cover on Cinema Junkie. And if you have a problem with that there's an argument clinic I know that I could send you to...

Identity theft is getting more sophisticated. Nowadays, teams of thieves work to attack large organizational systems with the goal of stealing thousands of credit card numbers. Your medical records are also at risk, and there are many questions being raised about the privacy on social networking sites, like Facebook. We discuss the newest forms of ID theft, and what you can do to protect your privacy online.

The San Diego art scene was rich and flourishing during the middle of last century. We'll talk with local mid-century art enthusiast Dave Hampton about the San Diego artists from the mid-century modern period.

How prevalent is cheating in school nowadays, and what can be done to prevent it? We speak to the authors of the new book "Cheating in School: What We Know and What We Can Do," about maintaining academic integrity in the 21st century.

What are the top stories leading into the new school year? We speak to Education Reporter Ana Tintocalis, and San Diego Unified School Board President Shelia Jackson, about what's on tap for the new school year, and how the district will move forward without a superintendent in place.

On 9-9-09 the film "9" will be opening. Hmm? Think they planned that? At Comic-Con this past July filmmaker Shane Acker and voice actor Elijah Wood spoke with me about bringing Acker's UCLA student film to the big screen. See the video of their interviews.

It's the first day of the new school year for thousands of San Diego Unified students. The district's school trustees are also back at work today, trying to set educational goals for this year despite a possible superintendent change.

The Southern California fall fire season has arrived with controversy. San Diego Gas and Electric is proposing to turn off power to the backcountry during high risk fire days. It’s a plan San Diego County fiercely opposes. State regulators could decide the matter this week.